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ChristyMarie

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Everything posted by ChristyMarie

  1. Spiaggia is expensive. It is certainly not for the budget minded. However, I have found the food to be absolutely perfect - taste, presentation and service are all outstanding. The prices and portions are inline with any other fine dining restaurant in the city, and the view cannot be matched. For those looking for slightly larger portions and slightly lower prices, perhaps Cafe Spiaggia would be more to their liking. The food there is also fantastic, just different.
  2. Here's an article from today's Tribune detailing the ban: Article 04/27/06 Basically just the sale of foie gras is banned in Chicago - says nothing (that I can find) about buying it in the suburbs and consuming it on private property within the city. One would wonder about mail order as well.
  3. I must put in a good word for Braxton's Seafood Grille in Oakbrook Center in Oakbrook, IL. I can't remember if they are part of a chain but decent food, good service and live music Friday and Saturday in the bar that carries nicely into the first part of the dining room. If you must eat at the mall that is my top choice in the area.
  4. I would hate to ruin an evening of wonderful service at Tru with a trip to the Signature Room but that's just me. Also, having just eaten at Tru on Saturday (excellent food and service as usual) I must take my hat off to anyone who can attempt a bar after that meal - it was all I could do to make it back to our hotel room. Of all the tastings I think Tru gives you the most food per course and it really adds up.
  5. We do this as well. Though to give you an idea last year the theme was The French Laundry - yes as in 8 or 9 courses from the cookbook. Yikes! However, selecting a chef, cookbook or the like is a great way to start. That way you are going through one or two cookbooks looking for the perfect recipes instead of first deciding where to even start looking. Charlie Trotter cooks at home might be perfect for this if you want to keep it low key. The braised short ribs are a thing of true beauty - and while time consuming are pretty easy to do. Anyways some tips: If you can delegate. You can decide on the recipes and delegate the work to trusted foodie friends. So one friend shows up with the appetizer (or even just one part of the appetizer), one a side, etc. You can also delegate wine purchasing to help with the costs - I think often people feel better bringing something instead of handing over cash. You can also ask for people to bring extra plates, etc if you do not have enough to do all the courses without washing. If possible, hire help for the evening. One person in the kitchen to wash, help plate, help clear, etc is a wonderful thing. Contact local restaurants to see if anyone is interested. Good luck! And remember to relax and enjoy the evening.
  6. I'm a light weight when it comes to drinking wine but they are spaced apart nicely so that by the end of the meal, with full wine pairing, I really didn't feel intoxicated at all and was quite fine the next morning. You can also request that the wine pairings stop at any point.
  7. No worries - I've done the full one at Tru (yes, with the cheese cart and all) and the full 25+ courses at Alinea - just take your time, go slow and enjoy. Many of the larger dishes I'll only eat half which really seems to help. BTW, when we went to Tru we also were staying at the Drake - makes a wonderful evening. Enjoy!
  8. Did you use super fresh fruit? I've found that fresh fruit has a LOT more juice in it than store bought. Additionally, I always add instant tapioca to help soak up extra liquid.
  9. I'm going to disagree a bit with my friend, Bruce. Tiburon is more about atmosphere than food quality IMO. Sapor is average at best in my experience (and it's nowhere near where you are staying anyway). ← I've had good service and food at Sapor - but you have to go there for what they do, local, organic stuff. And their bread is awesome.
  10. There's Bobino's Cafe & Wine Bar just down Hennepin, across the river. Casual atmosphere and good food. They have nightly specials which can help with the cost: http://www.bobino.com/ For sushi try Origami Sushi: http://www.origamirestaurant.com/sushi/sus...chi_maguro.html For fresh, organic food Cafe Brenda is a fave: http://www.cafebrenda.com/index.html
  11. Thank you for that detailed recap. Everything looks wonderful and I think I'm going to make reservations for when we are there in September.
  12. I often do the same thing but I must say that after looking over the list this year nothing is really standing out as a must have for me. I'll be quite interested to hear some early reviews as we're not hitting it until next Friday.
  13. Brief report of Alinea dinner this past Saturday, June 11th. Brief since I could never outshine any of the previous course by course descriptions, and won't even attempt to try, lol. Let me say this, I was somewhat concerned about the restaurant actually living up to all the hype. Alinea has been discussed so much and has been stated to be so absolutely incredible I was wondering if any restaurant ever could actually live up to that sort of reputation. Plus, I had read so much about it would I really be experiencing it for the first time with a fresh perspective? I was very relieved and quite happily surprised to find out that it does live up to the hype and regardless of what you've read you are not prepared for just how amazingly cool it is. From the very modern entry way to the greeting to the comfy chairs the stage is set for something truly unique. Staff was attentive without being fussy and understood what pace we wanted immediately. For the record our party of four did the Tour in 6 1/2 hours. The pacing of the food and wine was absolutely perfect leaving myself at least never overly full or tipsy. Granted there were a few service glitches which would be evident in any team only working together for 5 weeks ~ they were smoothly handled and corrected immediately and did not in any way take away from the experience. Now since you are all curious....one example was that one person in our party did not want the wine pairing and once a wine glass was placed in front of her instead of me. I will also add that one of our party had two allergies (dairy being one of them) and the chef came up with subsitutions on the spot which looked just as amazing and interesting as the food planned in advance. From the pb&j ~ where the grape was surprisingly warm to the "A1 steak" to the strawberry tube at the near end it was wonderful, surprising and actually went beyond my expectations. If you can get a reservation and deal with the bill at the end go for it. Wear comfortable clothes, settle in and simply enjoy.
  14. Honestly I read that review this morning, had a chuckle, and dismissed it. I don't think the reviewer was looking at the restaurant in an objective manner and perhaps had a bit of a chip on his shoulder going into the experience which altered his perception of the meal. I did mention to a friend that far from being "One crazed person actually charted his meal of 28 courses and posted it on the Internet," he's a saint who blessed us all with the first glimpse of the final presentation of the cuisine, and for that we are all eternally grateful. And I intend to thoroughly enjoy my meal there tomorrow evening!
  15. One inexpensive hotel option with consistently excellent service is the Hotel Allegro: http://www.allegrochicago.com/ Should be an easy cab ride to the restaurant - and yes, you should have no problem finding a cab in that area. Another option more north is the Hilton Garden hotel - much quieter than the Hilton Towers, and cheaper with a complimentary breakfast - to all guests. Just made reservations yesterday for June 11th. Simply cannot wait!
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